Straight No Chaser, the a cappella singing group from Indiana, is quickly becoming a holiday favorite of mine. I love their version of The Twelve Days of Christmas: When looking for the video, I discovered that they also have a Christmas Can Can that is also entertaining: And if you are in the mood for [Read More...]

A press release from NASA, already shared as well on Phil Plait’s blog Bad Astronomy, highlights exciting news: a planet has been discovered in the habitable zone around a sun-like star. It is not yet known whether the planet, which is roughly 2.4 times as large as earth, is predominantly gassy or rocky, nor whether [Read More...]

The stormtroopers are hot on the heels of the Magi, and send their human conscripts to Bethlehem to try to kill the child. But even though Luke Skywalker gets there too late, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus have escaped to safety… [Read more...]

To err is human. To learn to take the time to revise and improve on first drafts of one’s work may not be divine but it sure is important. In the freshman class I teach, students are required to submit a first draft of most papers, which is then graded and given feedback, after which [Read More...]